Agriculture More Than Ever Join the conversation

A new initiative underway invites you to champion the agriculture industry and play a role in changing perceptions about agriculture. Agriculture More Than Ever is a multi-year industry initiative to improve perceptions of agriculture in order to assist the industry to reach its full potential and ensure its long-term viability.

The Canadian Seed Growers’ Association is ready to join the conversation as a partner of Agriculture More Than Ever, and we hope others will too.

Image mattersTo attract the people, skills and investment needed to meet the growing demand for food, those of us involved in agriculture have a responsibility to promote the industry.

Agriculture is one of Canada’s largest employers and a contributor of more than $130 billion dollars to our national economy. We can’t ignore challenges, but when we discuss agriculture, we can choose to focus on the optimism and positive side of the industry.

Agriculture More Than Ever asks those involved in the industry to champion agriculture by engaging in more frequent discussion regarding what’s going well within the industry – filling in information gaps, responding to misguided perceptions and telling the success stories about the industry, online and offline.

The way we portray agriculture has a direct and powerful effect on how the public views our industry. We know that Canadian agriculture is a modern, vibrant and diverse industry, filled with forward-thinking people who love what they do. So, the role of Agriculture More Than Ever is to serve as a catalyst to get people talking about the opportunities and promising future that the industry has to offer.

How can you get involved?You’re involvement can start today with a simple commitment to help share positive stories and change the conversation about the industry with friends, family and others.

You can also check out the Agriculture More Than Ever website at www.AgricultureMoreThanEver.ca. The site was launched last spring to provide a forum for visitors to share their stories about agriculture, hear from others and

Are you coming to Halifax? CSGA’s 2013 Annual General Meeting is taking place in Halifax this summer and you are invited! If you are passionate about seed and the issues we face in our industry, there is no better event to attend to get your voice heard. The CSGA Board of Directors, CSGA Branch Boards, seed industry representatives and seed growers attend the event. The Annual General Meeting will take place in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 10th to 12th at the Westin Nova Scotian. You’ll also have opportunities to sit by the waterfront, soak up the sea air, enjoy delicious fresh Maritime seafood and specialty wines. Visit the CSGA website for registration information.

Canadian Seed Growers’ Association

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2013

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Notice of CSGA By-Law Changes

CSGA has to review and amend its By-laws in response to Canada’s new Not-For-Profit Corporations Act. The Act, passed in 2011, requires all federally registered not-for-profit corporations in Canada to file “Articles of Continuance” with Industry Canada before October 2014. At the same time, not-for-profits are required to bring their By-laws into compliance with the new Act.

Prior to the new Act, federal not-for-profit corporations were registered under a part of the Corporations Act. By-laws for not-for-profit organizations needed to be very prescriptive because the Corporations Act was not prescriptive for not-for-profit organizations. The new Act is much more prescriptive resulting in the ability for organizations to streamline By-laws recognizing the Act takes precedence and specifies many of the things that previously were prescribed only in By-laws.

The Act does result in the need to make amendments to the CSGA By-laws. This is also an opportunity to thoroughly review the By-laws and make changes to clarify and better reflect how the organization is operated and governed.

The changes being made do not change the intents of the current by-laws, objectives of the Association, or its purpose. Some examples of major changes include:

1. Because the Registered office of the Association needs to be outlined in the Articles of Continuance, it is redundant to be restated in the By-laws. Hence, a paragraph is deleted.

2. Only one type of membership, Regular Members, is outlined in the revisions. Previous categories like As-sociate and Affiliate membership are being eliminated. Membership will reflect those individuals, partner-ships and corporations that are making application for the inspection of seed crops. Under these amend-ments, all members will have voting privileges rather than having some non-voting categories of member-ship.

3. Ex officio Directors are not permitted under the new Act. Previously, the By-laws provided the President, past-President and Executive Director as Ex officio Directors. Because the new Act makes provision for the Board to appoint a limited number of Directors (up to 1/3 the number of elected Directors), the Board will now use this provision to appoint the President and past-President as Directors. Although the Act makes this provision, it must be included in our Articles of Continuance and By-laws if we wish to utilize it. The Board size has not changed and is described as a minimum of 14 and maximum of 24.

4. The Executive Director will no longer be an Ex officio Director but, if desired, could be appointed by the Board in a manner similar to the Board’s appointments for President and past-President.

5. The Executive Director will operate in an advisory role to the Executive Committee rather than being a member of the Executive Committee.

6. The Act requires Directors be elected at the Annual Meeting. Previously we had grower Directors elected by their respective Branch Annual Meetings and we had provincial Ministers appoint their representative as Directors. These will now all be nominations for election by members at the Annual Meeting.

7. The Act specifies the Directors elect or appoint Officers. The President and vice Presidents will now be elected by the Board.

8. If the By-laws make provision for membership to be terminated or suspended, the procedures for doing so must and have been be outlined in the proposed By-law amendments.

The proposed amendments to the By-laws will be considered at the CSGA Annual Meeting in Halifax July 10th-12th, 2013. Once approved by membership, CSGA will file the amended By-laws as well as Articles of Continuance with Industry Canada. This must be completed within 12 months of the membership’s approval.

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Online Applications for Seed Crop Inspection Now Easier Than Ever

You can access the the Online Application through the Member’s Area of the CSGA website. Please note that when you start the application, your information will not be saved if you close your browser or fail to submit your application. For best results, have all of your information together when starting your online application.

Here is a guide to help you complete your application. 1) As you scroll down the Application page, a series of drop down menus will guide you through the application process. It is important to note the Help options provided for specific dropdown fields are designated by the symbol. Anything marked by a red asterisk is a mandatory field and will turn green when completed.

Variety and Kind LooKup - First, select from the drop down menu the crop kind you will be planting. Second, type the variety into the next entry frame and press the search button to the right. If your variety is found, the system will populate the field. If not, you can search manually by leaving the entry frame blank and pressing the search button which opens a window with all varieties of that crop kind listed in alphabetical order to the right. *Note: If you cannot find your variety, search “new variety” and tell us the name in the comment section. FieLd inFormation - Here you must enter the Field ID, acres, the date the field was sown and whether or not it is a plot. You also can also assign the field or indicate if someone else will be paying the fees for this field (use the search technique described above under Variety and Kind Lookup). parent Seed Source - Here you must provide a Crop Certificate number or Pedigreed Reference number of the seed planted and the class. You can also include a seed lot number. You may also attach a tag here (.PDF or .DOC files only).*Note: You can add multiple seed sources by selecting the button to the right. You can remove a Parent Seed Source by selecting the button. preViouS Land uSe - Here you can tell us the previous land use (crop kind, variety, class of seed sown and whether a crop certificate was issued for this field). *Note: You can add another year by selecting the button or remove a year by selecting the button. FieLd Location - Here you can tell us the field location (quarter/lot, section/concession, township, range/county and meridian). You can also provide GPS coordinates. In 2013, a map is required with the application and can be submitted online by uploading either a .PDF or .DOC image or sent to CSGA’s main office via mail or fax.

2) To finish your application, you have the option to Cancel the application, Submit and Finish your application or to Submit and Add Another Field to continue with your application. *Note: It is important to select one of these options before closing your browser as the information you provided will not be saved or sent to CSGA.

Application Deadline DatesApril 25 - Winter canola/rapeseed May 25 - Fall seeded cereals June 10 - Forages, flax, canola, mustard, corn and field peas June 20 - All other crops July 10 - Field beans, buckwheat and soybeans

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Tips to help you complete your application and get your crop certificate as soon as possible

1. Tell us the pedigree of the seed plantedOne of the first requirements for pedigreed seed production crops is to verify that you planted pedigreed parent seed. If you produced the parent seed yourself, provide the crop certificate number on the application. If no lot number was assigned to the seed, indicate “Own” under “Lot No.”. If you purchased seed that was produced in Canada, provide the CSGA crop certificate number as well as the lot number.

If the seed you planted was produced outside of Canada, provide a photocopy of one of the seed tags for each different lot number. Keep the original tags to show the inspector during crop inspection.

2. Identify your plotsIdentify all Probation, Select, Foundation or Breeder plots as “Plots” on the first page of the application. If there are multiple plot growers on the application who are accredited or recognized by the CSGA, identify the individual who is producing the plot, i.e. “John’s plot” in the “Field Id.” section. The maximum plot size is 2.5 acres. If you have more than one plot of the same variety, enter each plot as a separate field on the application.

3. Check Circular 6 for the required land useProvide enough information for CSGA to verify that your field meets the land use requirements for the specific crop kind and class that you are producing. Two years of previous crop information is usually required but in some cases three or five years may be required as outlined in Circular 6, which can be found on our website at: http://www.seedgrowers.ca/cropcertification/circular.asp.

Under “Crop Certificate # Issued”, provide the crop certificate number issued to the seed crop produced in previous years, NOT the crop certificate number of the parent seed planted. For example, when providing a crop certificate number for a previous seed crop, the first two digits of the crop certificate number must match the year for which you are providing the previous land use information (i.e. if providing previous land use for 2012, the crop certificate number must begin with “12”).

If a previous crop was not inspected, then indicate if the land was used to produce a commercial/non-pedigreed crop, silage, hay or was cultivated or chemical summerfallow. If the commercial crop was a “land use inspection” write “land use inspection” and the crop kind.

4. Clearly indicate your assignmentsIf the crop certificate is assigned to another grower or company, indicate that in the space provided on the application.

5. Sign the application formThe application form must be signed by the growers(s) making the application. Because the application form is considered a legal document that binds CSGA and the applicant, the forms must be signed by the grower(s) applying for inspection. (continued on page 5)

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Seed Scoop is published by the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association in the interest of pedigreed seed production in Canada. Material may be reprinted, however, credit to Seed Scoop is appreciated. To join our distribution list, please email communications@seedgrowers.ca. Questions or Comments? Contact Us.CSGA is here to help and guide you. Don’t hesitate to contact us. Remember the CSGA national office operates in the Eastern Standard Time (EST) zone. Telephone: (613) 236-0497, Fax: (613) 563-7855, Email: seeds@seedgrowers.ca, Mailing Address: P.O. Box 8455, Ottawa, ON, K1G 3T1 Courier Address: 240 Catherine Street, Suite 202, Ottawa, ON, K2P 2G8 Visit www.seedgrowers.ca/contactus/staff.asp for complete contact information for our staff members.

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even learn something new about agriculture that they may not have known before in the facts section.

While on the site, take a few minutes to share your story about agriculture whether it’s why you love the industry, what you do or just a few lines about what agriculture means to you. And, this doesn’t just have to be in writing – photos and videos are also welcome. There are also a variety of promotional items available for purchase to show your support for Agriculture More Than Ever and the industry.

Follow Agriculture More Than Ever on Twitter at @AgMoreThanEver and “like” the initiative on Facebook at www.facebook.com/agriculturemorethanever. That way you’ll be in the know on all of the latest Agriculture More Than Ever updates.

Agriculture has never mattered more to Canada and the world. It’s time to tell the real story about agriculture and we welcome you to join us to help champion the industry!

Staff Announcements CSGA would like to send our congratulations to our Finance and Administration Manager, Pam Coles and her husband Dean Coles, for becoming the proud parents of a baby girl this past March. Pam plans to return to work early in 2014. In the meantime, contact Martine Hélie for questions regarding your account or payment of fees.

Passages

Lou Priest of Minesing, Ontario, passed away. Lou received a 30-year Long Service award in 2008. Larry Yeo of Miscouche, Prince Edward Island, passed away. Larry started growing seed in 1950, received a 55-year Long Service award in 2008 and a Robertson Associate award in 1980.

(continued from page 4, Tips to help you complete your application)

6. Submit payment at the time of application Payment for membership and crop inspection fees must be submitted at the time of application. Payments can be made by cheque payable to the CSGA. Online banking is available with the Bank of Montreal (BMO), the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and Scotia Bank, as well as numerous credit unions. To pay via online banking, you will need to add the Canadian Seed Growers’ Assoc as a payee and use your CSGA grower number as the account number. Please note that accounts that are in arrears will result in delays of issuance of crop certificates and prevent the listing of your seed crops in national and provincial seed crop directories.

7. Provide your email address Throughout the season, CSGA sends updates on your field crop inspec-tions, including corrective action notifications, by email. Enter your email address on the application or in the Members’ Area of the CSGA website to receive these important notices. Complete all sections of the application. If you have any questions on your application, contact the CSGA Operations Co-ordinators. Their full contact information is available on our website.